The Nature of Fear
by stickers95
Summary: When Sally Carrera gets kidnapped by bankrobbers, her world and that of Lightning McQueen gets turned upside down... Translation from my German Fan Fic 'The Nature of Fear'. Rated: chapter 4, just to be safe [explicit language][attempted sexual violence]
1. Preface

- - -

_"The nature of fear is, that it corrupts the heart and,  
if not stopped, leaves us in total silence..."_

- - -

**Disclaimer:**  
"Cars" and the "Cars" characters are owned by Disney/Pixar. I only own the additional characters and the plot. This is a fan fiction story and not subject to any commercial use.

**Author's note:**  
This is no nice story, although the beginning is nice and the end quite fluffy.  
It's definitely not nice. Well - if you wanna find out why, you'll have to read it...


	2. A Date and A Robbery

1 - A Date and a Robbery 

"Will...?"  
"Hey, folks - I'm over here," shouted Will. The young red Voyager shifted into reverse gear, his eyes still focuses on the football. Skilfully he outmanoeuvred the opponent's forwards while still driving backwards, then he stopped dead as the ball came flying towards him, and in no time he had rushed up to the opponent's goal.  
The goal itself was no proper goal but made up by a chalk line drawn on the asphalt, but looks didn't count here. What counted instead was the fact that the goalkeeper, his friend Jonathan, now would try to clear the ball, and Jo (as the young LeBaron was called by his friends) wasn't really good at that. Will knew that. He slowed down, drove a feigned attack, and then – "Gooaal!" With his front he had kicked the ball so hard that it flew over the thin white chalk line just beneath the white LeBaron. Will let out a triumphant howl, then he braked and skidded the last meters over the street's slippery surface, before he came to a halt just a few inches away from his friend.

Lightning McQueen who had been watching this scene from behind, couldn't help smiling as he noticed the loser team's sad faces. Not that he couldn't understand the bitterness of the defeat… It all reminded him of his own childhood days, when he had been roaming the streets together with his friends. But football, or "streetball" as it was called, never really interested him, he had preferred to play "racing" right from the beginning. It only seemed like yesterday…  
He sighed.

In the meantime, the four boys hat put their football aside and now heatedly discussed the whereabouts of the rematch, when they were called in for lunch. One after another disappeared in the near-by houses.  
Correct, Lightning thought, it was 12.00 p.m… exactly.  
Bakersfield was such a respectable little town with such respectable citizens.

Will was the latest because he drove very slowly. Once again, he turned around to cast another eye onto the site of his triumph, then he finally set course to his home. His mother, a light blue Grand Voyager, had already been waiting for him at the front door. Now she scolded at him as he passed the threshold, then the door closed behind them and the street lay in complete silence again.

Lightning found himself staring after them when they long had gone... At half past twelve he had arranged to meet Sally at the crossing of Maine Street/Wynand street, just opposite the branch building of the Bakersfield Allstate Bank. First, she wanted to go to a Café, and afterwards they had planned to drive on to the Greenhorn Mountains. And should there be any time left, which he doubted, they could also visit Mourning Cloak Botanical Garden.  
Thinking of her made him feel very warm inside…  
But until then, he still had some time.

Somehow he had managed to get his things done quicker than he had imagined, and so he had started to stroll around with no particular destination in mind, until he finally had stopped here. But now he was sick of waiting. Longing to see her, Lightning reconsidered his plans. What was so bad about being a little too early?  
Slowly he turned around ad set course for Maine Street.

* * *

Sally waited patiently, while the clerk in front of her was trying to re-arrange the paperwork on his desk. She had not been aware that for a simple extension of her credit limit she would have to fill out loads of forms, and she secretly cursed herself for coming here.  
She threw a quick glance at the clock at the wall. Thanks God, she still had more than half an hour, before she would meet Lightning, and until then the paperwork hopefully would be finished.  
Her thoughts began to wander off again in anticipation, as she pictured out the time they would spend together.  
They hadn't seen each other very often during the last days, with Lightning being off to several training camps because there would be another qualification race soon, and with herself trying to cope with the steadily increasing amount of guests at the Wheel Well Motel.  
She couldn't help but smiling. Just another 30 minutes, then they could seize the day… 

"Miss Carrera...?"  
The voice of the clerk, a young white Toyota RAV4 who hadn't been able to keep his eyes off her all the time, dragged her back into reality. The RAV4 gave her a shy smile. He had sorted out all the papers on his desk, prepared to go through them together with her and explain everything in detail, before she finally could sign the application forms.  
While they were busy, three more vehicles entered the hall.  
The clerk only gave them a quick glance and nodded a vague "welcome".

One of the three newcomers, a muddy-brown-coloured American Motors Hummer H1, now stood in front of the counter, watching the Toyota's female colleague at the cash desk, while both of his friends quietly sneaked up from behind.  
The Hummer grinned openly at the girl in front of him.

"Drive back two meters, honey, and keep your tires off the alarm button," he said quietly.  
The cashier girl, a Camry, stared at him in disbelief.  
"I mean what I say, sweetheart," the Hummer added and pointed to his buddy at his right side, a GMC Sierra Pickup. "My faithful friend here's got some fireworks on his cargo bay, so maybe he'll put some rockets under your sweet little ass"  
Frightened, the Camry backed away, and in the very moment one of the Hummer's sidekicks, a dark blue Dodge, took over.  
Obviously pleased with himself, the Hummer looked around into the faces of all those present.  
"Now that you got the drift, just don't start your engines, and above all - don't move!"

From the moment on it had become clear how things would develop, Sally nearly had frozen, eyes to the ground and staring holes into the floor, desperately hoping not to draw the bankrobbers' attention onto herself, but these guys were still busy dealing with the bank's staff.  
"Okay, sweetheart. Now hand over the money, please"  
The cashier girl backed away, writhing with fear. "I - I can't," she began, "the cash's got a time lock…"

Before Sally could understand what was going on, the Hummer suddenly was right at her side, with the Sierra additionally blocking her way. She froze immediately, because how the story would go on now was more than obvious to her - but it was too late, there was no escape anymore.  
At the same moment, the Sierra bumped heavily into her left side, so that she cried out in pain.

The Hummer, with a deadpan expression, stared into the Camry's eyes. "Maybe you didn't understand me correctly," he said and grinned again. His voice now was strong and powerful. "Hand over the money, _pronto_, or our little cutie here will have to pay," he explained. "And I'm positive you folks do not really want her to suffer, do you...?"  
He threw a quick glance at the classy Porsche lady beneath him. This light-blue little beauty had been from heaven sent, he thought and smiled (to himself). Although looking frightened now, she really was hot! His thoughts began to wander off for a moment.

Sally, in return, wished herself to be very far, far away at the moment, only to get out of this nightmare. Oh my God, she thought, what was still to come? She nearly didnt' dare to breathe.

In the meantime, the Camry at the cashier desk had started to collect the money, her eyes still focused on the Dodge who stood menacingly between her and the counter. She started trembling.  
"Oh, come on, honey," the Dodge hissed. "Be a good girl and get movin'..."

As soon as she had finished, the money was stowed away, and then the Hummer again addressed his audience.  
"See?" he began. "If you don't make any trouble, it all works out nicely." He indicated a curteous bow, before he and his friends prepared to leave. At once, Sally felt relieved, hoping that they now not only got out of this building, but also out of her life forever, so that she could forget about this nasty little incident.  
But she hadn't taken the young clerk into consideration…

As soon as it became clear that the Trio would be leaving, the RAV4 headed for the alarm button, straight into the direction of the counter… But the three SUV's did notice that.  
Again, Sally got bumped severely without any warning. "Ouch!" she cried. "That hurt, you brute"  
The Hummer looked furious, his eyes narrowing, thus making Sally freeze again, while the Pickup, on his command, slowly drove up towards her.  
She gasped, dreading that her worst fears were right about to come true…

With a leering smile, the Pickup came to a halt. "Come on, cutie," he said, waiting for her.  
"And don't you move," the Hummer added. "Keep your tires to the floor, and stay away from the alarm button – for the sake of this little lady here…"

Sally felt a rush of panic float through her body like a sudden heat wave. They would take her with them, as a hostage…! Her thoughts began to run wild in despair.  
Where was Lightning? It was much too early… - what, the hell, could she do now? Frightened, she looked around for help, but here at this place she couldn't expect to find any. Nowhere, to be honest. The expression in the Pickup's eyes was everything but merciful.  
Trembling inside, she reluctantly started to move.

* * *

In the meantime, Lightning was driving down Maine Street. He still had maybe 900, 800 meters to go, when he already could see the Bakersfield Allstate branch: It was an old-fashioned, flat concrete building with lots of safety glass around, probably built in the Seventies.  
He wondered whether Sally still would be waiting inside… Well, at least he could try and have a look. 

At this moment, the doors flew open, three dark-coloured SUVs shot out of the main entrance, crossed the pavement and hurried towards the street, nearly crashing into those vehicles which unfortunately happened to be there at that moment. There were angry shouts and cries, but Lightning's motor nearly missed a stroke when he suddenly recognized Sally's voice among them. What the hell was going on here…?

He could make out her silhouette between the huge shapes of the SUVs – a Hummer, a Dogde and a GMC – and at the same moment, distant police sirens began to wail.  
Lightning began to understand.

These barbarians! They wanted to kidnap her!  
He accelerated, not heeding the traffic around him anymore. A very awkward feeling had seized him and now turned into panic.  
He felt a cold rush of fear creep up his back.

By now, the kidnappers had crossed the red traffic lights, thus causing a traffic jam, angry honking and even more chaos. Without wasting any thoughts, Lightning jumped right into where the traffic was thickest. But although being used to force his way through vehicle masses, it took him much longer than expected to get through to the other side. In the meantime, the kidnappers had already reached the end of the road and now turned left.

The wailing of the sirens grew louder, but the cops still were too far away. He started worrying about that. Somehow, the whole situation seemed out of control to him – there was something very weird going on, which, in his opinion, didn't make sense, and while he was still wondering, the clue suddenly struck him like thunder.  
What had puzzled him all the time was the fact that the sirens were coming only from behind, not from the front or elsewhere…! This would mean that the kidnappers were able to get away unhindered, because obviously nobody cut their way off!  
Damned…  
Sally - !  
He wanted to cry out loud in despair. But since this would make things even worse, he decided to keep quiet instead.

He felt his anger rise, but together with his anger and despair also went a strange kind of inner calmness. Nevertheless, his mind was working frantically on a plan to rescue her…  
You mustn't come too close, he muttered to himself.  
If they noticed him, then… Well, he preferred not to picture out in detail what would happen in that case.  
At once, he slowed down to keep the distance between him and the SUVs, trying to concentrate on the traffic at the same time and desperately hoping that he neither would lose track nor cause an accident.  
He desperately hurried on.

The kidnappers now had set course for the city limits. If they sped on like that, they soon would not only have left the city, but also the cops way behind. What would happen then?  
They would reach the open plains which turned into wilderness soon, leading to the woods that crept up the mountain slopes. And out there, they would be able to find plenty of hiding places.  
Lightning felt miserable. He cursed himself for not being earlier at their meeting point, and then he suddenly realized that he probably was the only one who knew where the kidnappers were heading at.  
Now it was his turn to take care of this matter. He had to follow them without coming too close, keep on track, and above all, to make sure that they never ever noticed him.  
Carefully he slowed down again until the distance between him and them was big enough.


	3. Into the Woods

2 - Into the Woods 

As he turned off the road and onto the country lane, he could feel the soil which was covered with smaller and bigger pebbles go crunching underneath his tires. In contrast to the dark hot asphalt, it felt quite cool, but also soft.  
Soft? Well, at least strange… and somewhat slippery.  
Funny thoughts crossing his mind…  
But now he had no time for that.

In the distance, a trail of dust indicated that the four vehicles were still moving, but he couldn't make out any details. He slowed down until he came to a halt, closely watching the road in front of him, panting, waiting for his breath to calm down again.

Fine-grained, dusty soil… The worn-out track of the country lane showed a mixture of tire prints, the clearest ones obviously originating from the Hummer's cross-country tires.  
The mere thought of Sally being held captive by these brutes made him feel sick.

He would have to proceed slowly, in order to avoid being seen… Even with the kidnappers being out of sight, he could not be positive that they wouldn't notice him. But nevertheless, he had to move on.  
After a few kilometres, not only the smell but also the looks of his surroundings changed remarkably: First a desert-like plain with a variety of scattered rocks, a few giant cactuses and dried-out bushes which seemed to emanate an odour that reminded him of sun-dried herbs, the landscape now had turned into a thorny macchia with nearly impenetrable undergrowth and a rich, spicy smell. At least, it offered lots of hiding places…  
Stretching upwards, he could see the edge of the woods in the distance. If the damned soil would allow for that, maybe he could make up for some distance.  
Carefully he went on.

But the path that initially ran straight through the open plain, now became wound and bent and unsteady. From time to time, rocks seemed rupture the ground, thus forcing him into evasive manoeuvres. Maybe he should tell Sarge, he thought with a grim smile.  
For him, being a race car with a relatively low ground clearance, these conditions were as bad as possible, but until now he had managed to get on so far…

Half an hour later he had reached the first trees. Dark and towering, the edge of the forest rose in front of him, lined by nearly monstrous conifers – this had to be Sequoias, he thought. With their red bark and green needles, they seemed quite nice at daylight, but inside the woods, the lots of tall column-shaped tree trunks looked less inviting to him. Standing very close to each other, they shielded the forest ground from daylight, and as he approached further, he noticed the damp cool air and the sour smell of the forest's humus soil.

After a few meters, the winding path fell into complete darkness, and he could only imagine what its further course would be. Having no headlights, he would have to find his way in the dark… On the other hand, this might turn out as an advantage, since it prevented him from being detected easily.  
He looked around. Could they have chosen another way? But there were no other options – this was the only possible entrance into the woods, and if they had turned left or right beforehand, he would have noticed it because of the tire tracks.  
They must have come this way, exactly this way.

* * *

As soon as he had passed the edge of the forest, daylight gave way to a feeble twilight. He blinked, his eyes needing some time to adjust to the change of light, but then he was able to distinguish between the shapes of single tree trunks and shreds of beard lichens hanging down from above. There was a strong smell of decay.He wondered how Sally was – and what the heck these barbarians would do to her, but then again, he preferred not to figure it out in detail, because he felt panic surge up within his engine again.  
The answer to this question maybe could be found somewhere in the depths of this forest… He better hurried on! 

The soil turned out to be more difficult for him than he had imagined. Ruptured by roots, the ground rose and fell steadily, rocks and rotting tree trunks barred his way, and twice he nearly got stuck. But the worst part was still to come… Much to his dismay, the path was also scattered with puddles and bog-like areas, where mud, algae, rotten leaves and lots of needles turned the soil into a slippery slope.  
He cursed his racing tires…

For some time he couldn't find any signs or hints that somebody had passed through recently, but then he discovered fresh-looking tire imprints at the edge of a puddle. They had to be very near, somewhere... Maybe he had come too close?  
Alarmed, he stopped immediately, switched off his motor and listened intensely.

Silence…  
Carefully he went on.  
Without his engine, he would be much slower but also generating less noise… Yes, he was right – the sounds of his tires got muffled by the trees that surrounded him.

But – wasn't there a strange noise?  
He held his breath, waiting anxiously.  
There it was again – a short, crushing thud, then the wailing roar of a strained engine.  
The faint echo of voices.  
Darn… he couldn't see anything!

For a moment, he felt paralyzed, fearing that somebody could have heard him. And so he peered into the darkness, counting the seconds, trembling inside with fear, waiting for the big Hummer to strike out of nowhere, but then the sounds slowly grew dim and faded.  
He was lucky.  
They hadn't noticed him.

Now the terrain in front of him became even more unsteady.  
Although the path was winding, thus changing directions several times, he could see something for the first time – there was a pale shimmer of light glistening between the dark tree trunks. Must be the headlights of the kidnappers, he thought. And Sally's.  
Oh, Sally…  
He took a deep breath.  
Stay calm, he muttered to himself.  
Breathe slowly. Focus…!

The pale lights disappeared behind the next turn.  
Slowly he started to move again.

The path now was steep as it bent and wound its way downwards. But the gaps between the tree trunks grew wider, the forest became much lighter, and he realized that the improved visibility wasn't really good for him. He slowed down again, hoping that there was enough space between him and the kidnappers , worried by the fact that they had a considerable start by now – but better safe than sorry. He had to be careful in order to stay unnoticed.  
But all the care didn't help, as he applied it on "not-being-noticed" and not on his forthcoming – the soil was too slippery, and although he tried to brake, he couldn't stop anymore. No, no, no…! Desperately fighting to gain control again, he skidded downwards several meters until he finally crashed into a tree.  
The crash made the tree's branches shiver, and seconds later, a shower of brown, dead pine needles softly rained down on him.

Instinctively, he had closed his eyes, holding his breath.  
Silence.  
Paralyzed by shock, he kept quiet and didn't move, counting seconds again, but also this time nothing happened. Obviously he had been lucky again, thanks God.  
Carefully and slowly, he opened his eyes, one after the other, and blinked.  
Nothing.  
Fortune still seemed to be smiling upon him…

Next, he shook off the needles. At his left side, where he had hit the tree, he could see a considerable dent. Darn!  
This really was bad luck – but then again, it could have been worse, he thought. Well, it had happened, and he couldn't do anything about it anymore. At least it didn't hurt much. So he tried to focus again in order to examine his surroundings closely.

The terrain in front of him fell steadily until it reached a kind of narrow valley that cut deeply into the mountain slopes. In contrast to the woods, it lay in bright sunlight, its center studded with several trees, surrounded by lower bushes and roof-high weeds and grasses. The valley seemed to be maybe 100 meters wide, and the muddy slope became dryer and broader as it wound on, before it disappeared again behind the trees. At the opposite side, where the slopes climbed uphill again to meet the pale sky, the forest soon became as impenetrable as before.  
There was total silence, no sign of any motion, no single bird or rustling leaves.

After trying a few manoeuvres, slowly moving forth and back again, Lightning managed to free himself from the awkward position he had been in, and carefully he went on.

* * *

At the crossing, the Hummer suddenly stopped.  
Sally, who by now felt as if she couldn't move a further inch anymore, was taken by surprise, but thanks God her distance to him was big enough so that she managed to come to a halt without running into him. Only thinking of it made her feel sick, but maybe the sickness was due to the fact that she was quite exhausted by now... At least, it was good to get a short break.

Every single component of hers seemed to hurt – no wonder, the parforce tour through the woods of course did leave traces on her, did have an impact on her, that was for sure, and she was still breathing heavily.  
She was a Porsche 911, no Cayenne – built for the roads and not for this kind of terrain…! But the kidnappers didn't care about that. Every time she got stuck in the soft, slippery soil or couldn't pass a muddy bog, they pushed her from behind, even against her will - whether she liked it or not.  
But not only the difficult terrain was wearing her out, she also was pretty much frightened by now. She had to admit to herself that the more time passed away, the lesser her hopes became. She didn't know what was awaiting her, how things would go on, and she was desperately wishing for this nightmare trip to be over soon, that she would wake up soon and everything would be o.k. again…  
But she was wide awake, and the nightmare went on.

Logan had turned around and gave her a quick, suspicious glance before he addressed his buddies.  
"Tell me, Walt – where do we have to go? To the left, or to the right...?"  
The dark blue Dogde Durango was pondering the question heavily. "To the left, I think", he finally answered, panting slightly.  
"...You think – or you know?!"  
As Logan came closer, eying him carefully, Walt felt a sudden urge to back away a few meters, but managed to resist. Only his voice was trembling slightly, indicating that he didn't like being treated like that.  
"We need to turn left", he insisted.  
"Let's hope you're right," Logan growled and turned around.

As Sally didn't react immediately, she got severely bumped by Jason, the Pickup.  
"Hey, move on," the Pickup snapped at her.  
She felt like crying, although she wanted to be strong and show no weakness... Crying was the last thing she wanted to do, especially not in front of these idiots!  
So she swallowed hard and started to move again.  
Please, dear God, she silently begged…  
…it was so fruitless.  
A sudden, overwhelming feeling of despair made her feel miserable, as if she had a lump in her throat, and trying hard not to start crying, she somehow managed to hold back her tears.  
So she forced herself to climb the slope uphill, which wasn't that easy for her. Soon she was overtaken by the GMC Sierra who obviously wanted to have a chat with his boss, and she felt immediate relief, because now she "only" had Walt at her heels, and the dark blue Dodge seemed to be less rude than his friends.  
Hold on, she told herself, be strong! You can do it…

Suddenly, she thought of Lightning.  
She wondered how he was doing right now, now that she didn't show up as promised. The mere thought was painful, but strange at the same time, as if he was part of another world, a strange world far, far away…  
As she closed her eyes to prevent herself from crying, she could hear Walt's soft voice whisper at her back "Don't worry, Honey, we nearly made it"  
She didn't dare to answer, so she remained silent and tried to focus on the muddy trail in front of her.

* * *

As he reached the bottom of the valley, the ground seemed to rise again.  
Lightning was in a good mood - so far, he had been getting along quite well, if he didn't count his little accident. The trail he was following now offered lots of hiding places since it wound and bent many times. But he should curse this feature moments later, as he discovered that the path lead to a crossing.  
Darn.  
From above, he had been unable to notice this, because of the thick vegetation.  
He stopped, eying the soil in front of him carefully, looking for all kind of traces or imprints that could give him a hint which way the kidnappers might have taken, but there weren't any. There weren't even any traces of Diesel exhaust, although the characteristic, strong smell normally lingered on for a long time.  
There was nothing. All he could smell was the rich, spicy odour of the surrounding weeds.  
No tire imprints.  
No traces.  
He wondered whether he had lost track.  
Which way would they have taken?  
He looked around. All of the paths sooner or later lead into the woods again, only to disappear behind dark tree trunks.  
He needed to make a decision, but ratio wouldn't help much in this case…  
Paying attention to his feelings instead, he chose the path to his left.

* * *

After fastening the chain with a lock, Walt cast a last quick glance on his oevre.  
The huge tree trunk around which he had slung the chain, was 90 cm in diameter and therefore would resist any pulling strain – that was also true for the chain itself. It was made of thick, stainless steel. Its other end was fastened to the Porsche's towing-hook so that Sally couldn't run away anymore, although she still was able to move.

Initially, Walt didn't like the idea of leaving their hostage some space to move, but much to Sally's surprise, Jason had talked him into it until he had convinced him at least. She still wondered what the reason for this decision could be when he approached her slowly, coming so close to her that she started to feel uncomfortable.  
"If our little lady here causes any trouble," he had whispered to her, at the same time still keeping an eye on the blue Dodge, "then I'm gonna ask Logan to take care of her personally..."  
Obviously, she didn't like that, and so Jason had smiled at her knowingly. "See, Honey – I knew you'd be a good girl." Then he had turned around and went indoors, so that Walt finally was left with her alone.  
"You've heard him", Walt began slowly. He had no idea of what to tell her now, and so he raised his voice in attempt to let it sound impressive. "Just behave, don't make any fuss. And above all, stay quiet!" he ordered.  
Sally nodded shyly.

As soon as she was alone again, Sally tried to sort out what just had happened to her, but it was hard to stay calm. Her whole world seemed to have turned upside down, and her thoughts were running wild…  
Here she was, chained to a tree, somewhere in an unknown forest in the middle of nowhere, far away from any kind of civilisation, far away from any hope…  
Don't panic, she told herself.  
Stay calm.  
You can do it, you'll succeed!  
She looked around.  
She was surrounded by dark, towering tree trunks. Although there was much space between them, she couldn't see much in the dim twilight since the tree tops were so huge and thick, their branches spreading so wide that they shut out the sun. No ray of light touched the ground…  
The ground itself was soft and covered with lots of brown, dead leaves and needles, sometimes wet and muddy where the kidnappers had left their tire imprints. Even if she could manage to escape – she wouldn't get far… On this terrain she would be lost soon with her rear wheel drive, either losing control on the slippery soil or getting stuck in the mud instead.  
Frustrated, she lowered her gaze, staring onto her hood where the damp air was condensing, thus forming tiny droplets on her paint.

Was it the dim light, or just the horror she'd been through during the last hours? Sally soon had lost any feeling for the normal progress of time. She didn't know where she was, how late it was, what these brutes would do to her. Her spirit sank.  
In her eyes, the dark forest with its endless rows of tree trunks and its strong smell of decay now had an eerie look, although it appeared to be unreal like a fake horror world from a B movie…  
Normally, she would have laughed at herself, but she didn't feel like laughing anymore.

Fear crept up her back, started to fill her thoughts, to take over her mind, to influence her perception. Nervously, she looked around, but there was nothing. Nobody.  
She tried to breathe steadily.  
This is quite o.k., she told herself. I'm frightened.  
Just stay calm.  
Just think. Or do something.  
Just don't panic…

Carefully, she tried to move a few inches, but as soon as she had done so, the chain links gave a sharp, clanking metallic noise which seemed much louder to her than it probably was.  
She held her breath, froze at once, being even more frightened now, and listened intensely.  
From inside the wooden hut, she could hear the muffled sound of voices, but apart from that, everything was quiet.  
Too quiet.  
There was a dull kind of silence.

Somewhat relieved, she let out the breath she'd been holding, but this kind of relief was so absurd… The whole situation was so absurd!  
Here she was, chained to a tree, and she didn't knew what to do now…  
She felt so miserable.  
So vulnerable.  
What did they want from her?  
What would they do to her?  
The lump in her throat grew even bigger, and she swallowed hard.  
The mere thought of being at the kidnappers' mercy made her lose the last little bit of hope that was left in her, and she felt a sudden urge to cry out loud in despair.  
She just wanted to be far away from here – far, far away…

Her despair suddenly turned into anger, her anger into fury, and with the power of her 320 horsepower engine she tried to break the chain that held her, tore at it with all the strength that was left in her, not heeding the noise, her rear wheels spinning on the slippery soil, but the chain didn't break.  
Finally she gave up, exhausted.  
It was so futile…  
And as she recognized that, she wasn't able to control her emotions anymore. Despair took over, making her feel even worse than before.  
Suddenly, tears filled her eyes, and she broke down, her flanks starting to tremble as she slumped to the ground, sobbing heavily.  
There was no escape.


	4. Between Hammer and Anvil

4 - Between Hammer and Anvil 

Before he could see the kidnappers, he could hear them.  
Lightning held his breath - from now on, he would have to be extremely careful...  
The very moment he had heared the faint voices, he had stopped, and now he slowly rolled back several meters to take a closer look at his surroundings.

The path in front of him seemed to turn right, before it disappeared behind the trees. And as he looked into this direction, he thought he'd see something dark between the tree trunks - a dark, rectangular-shaped silhouette, probably a wooden hut or something like that. There also was a faint smell like burnt wood.  
Yeah, this had to be the kidnappers' hideaway - a wooden hut somewhere in the forest. He had to admit that the idea wasn't bad; nobody would look for them out here in the middle of nowhere. But as good as it was for the kidnappers, as bad it was for him at the same time. He realized that he was totally on his own, whatever he would do now... And if he wanted to rescue Sally, he would need a really good plan!

Thinking about his next steps, he looked around. There wasn't any undergrowth here, only a few single bushes...  
This meant that he couldn't come close to them, he would have to keep distance again. Darn!  
Carefully, he started to move, and since the path went to the right, he turned left.

The rotten leaves and needles underneath his tires gave soft, crunching sounds as he passed, but he was too far away to be noticed, and he hoped not to hit some hidden branches or twigs accidently. His intention was to circle around the kidnappers' hiding place, thus trying to collect as much information on his opponents as possible. And as soon as he had found out a weakness, he would...   
Well, what would he do then?   
This had to wait, he said to himself. First things first, there was no use worrying about it now.

He wondered how Sally was, and the next moment he found himself praying to find her unharmed, his lips forming soundless words that begged for her life, her well-being. But he didn't find any comfort in that.  
What if they had got rid of her in the meantime?  
The rush of panic that crept through his engine made him shiver, and this time it was much harder to calm down again.  
That was total crap, he told himself. He would have found tire tracks, if they had shoved her down the embankment somewhere... The mere thought was so disturbing that his emotions started running amok as he tried to chase away the dreadful pictures that tortured his mind. No, no, no!  
He shook himself, trying to clear his thoughts again. Now he needed to stay focused - focused on a plan... and he definitely had no time for panicking.  
Sighing, he went on.

Half way round, he found the entrance. It was protected by a low but roofed porch, or at least it looked to him like that from the distance. There seemed to be no path leading to it, but he couldn't be sure of that since the ground was uneven.  
No sign of Sally...

In that moment, the heavy wooden door gave a creaking sound, and he froze.  
As it got pushed open from the inside, a dark blue Dodge Durango appeared in the opening - apparently the one who had transported the money, Lightning remembered. He still wondered why they had chosen this one and not the Pickup instead.  
The Dodge slowly looked to the left and right, before he started moving again.  
Lightning held his breath. He ducked to the ground as low as he could, hoping that the blue one didn't notice him, and he was lucky. The Dodge turned right after a few meters and disappeared behind the bushes, where he started whistling.  
Lightning looked away.

Half a minute later, the Dodge reappeared, now humming a melody unknown to him. He didn't seem to be in a hurry, because he yawned as he reached the door, stretched his tires and took a good look around before he went in again.  
The door fell shut.  
Silence.

* * *

The further Lightning went, the thicker the undergrowth became, and his spirit rose.  
This meant that he would be able to get closer, maybe he could even manage to pick up a bit of their conversation... He wasn't good at eavesdropping, but at least he would try.  
Carefully, he approached the hideaway, eyes locked mostly onto the ground in order to avoid all unnecessary noises, as he suddenly caught a glimpse of something blue shimmering through the leaves.  
Sally...?  
He stopped immediately, his engine pounding heavily, and he switched it off in order not to draw any attention.  
To his left and to his right, everything seemed to be quiet. For a moment, he listened intensely, but there was nothing. So he rolled on a few meters, until his front touched the bushes that rose right before him.  
He took a deep breath. And as he peered through the tangled leaves in front of him, his oil pressure suddenly rose.  
There she was! 

Sally stood close to the wall of the wooden building and did not move.   
Was she asleep?  
Please, let her be alive, let her be o.k., he begged instantly, as he tried to figure out what had happened to her. One nagging question was worrying him more than everything else - if she still was alive and unhurt, why didn't she run away? Being unguarded and left alone, why didn't she manage to escape?  
In his mind, the dreadful pictures started taking over again. Maybe she was unconscious, or hurt, or...

Think! he told himself, trying to sort things out. Addressing her now wouldn't be good, that was for sure... From this distance, he couldn't be sure whether she would hear him or not - and whether the kidnappers would notice him instead. But what else could he do?  
Unfortunately, she didn't have a radio set as he did. Darn!  
He cursed himself, since he should have talked her into it - to get the same kind of radio he used for racing. Once he had asked her to get a car phone at least, but she had rejected. Well, that chance had been given away. There was no way he could contact her now.  
He sighed.

As he moved on, he came across the muddy path again that obviously only lead near the hut but never touched it. But at this point, the undergrowth was rich and thick. And as pushed some twigs aside, he noticed that at this side of the hut there was a window.  
He would remember this place. Maybe he could come back and start here... This was exactly what he did half an hour later, since the last meters of his quest didn't reveal any new information. So the only places suitable for approaching closely where the window, and the place where Sally was.   
Well, he didn't want to endanger her life even more, so he chose the window.

As he sneaked up carefully, he could hear voices again.  
The kidnappers seemed to be in a good mood - judging by the noises, there was some kind of party going on inside...  
He tried to focus on recognizing single voices, but the fact that their pronunciation was influenced by the booze didn't make things easier for him.  
After a while, he managed to identify at least three of them: There was their boss, Logan, the Hummer, then a Walt, obviously the blue Dodge, and a third one called Jason - he had to be the Pickup. But there seemed to be a fourth car present. If he only could hear them better...   
He ducked as low as his tires allowed for, and crawled forward as slowly as he could. Now he had to be extremely careful, because underneath the window was a collection of old and rusty metal parts, left there to rot in peace. If he hit them by accident, he'd be lost...

A moment later, a crumpled oil can flew out of the window and missed him only by a few inches.  
Instinctively, he had pressed himself onto the ground.  
Please, just stay where you are, don't go looking for the oil can, the thought.  
He was lucky. Was it because of the sudden wealth, or the enormous amounts of gasohol involved - the party inside grew harder and even louder.  
"Guys," the Pickup yelled, "Shouldn't we discuss how we're gonna divide up the dough?"  
Somebody gave a roaring laughter.  
"Or our little beauty outside?"  
"There will be no discussions," the Hummer growled, and he didn't sound very friendly. "We'll divide up the money as agreed upon, then Joss here will give all of us a good paint job, and finally we're gonna leave, one after another."

So Joss seemed to be the fourth car... A paint specialist?  
Lightning swallowed. _Three_ opponents would be hard enough, but f_our_...?

"Hey, Logan," he heard Jason say, "don't worry - just kidding..." Again laughter.   
Walt still was giggling. "...And what about the chick in the backyard?"  
"She's a Porsche," the Pickup yelled, "that's something special..."  
"A classy chick then," Joss roared, liking the idea. "Oohh - let me have a try, man... I haven't had a good fuck in days...!"   
More roaring laughter.  
"You probably get your chance later..." The Pickup chuckled hard. "Boss comes first..."   
The three of them were laughing again, but Logan didn't react.  
Joss was puzzled. "Boss...?"   
The Pickup joined him. "Don't tell me you're on celibate," he giggled.  
Logan's answer was harsh and came unexpectedly. "Who told you idiots I'm gonna share her with you?!" he yelled.

Lightning underneath the window grew sick, and the unpleasant silence that suddenly had fallen didn't make him feel any better.  
There were strange sounds, as if heavy objects would be moved, and then he could hear the kidnappers tires on the wooden floor as they rolled back- and forward.  
He listened anxiously.

"...Just kidding!" The Hummer suddenly burst into laughter, and one after another, the rest of them joined in - hesitantly first, but then their voices grew louder, until Lightning thought he couldn't bear it anymore, but even he could feel their tension turn into relief although everything inside of him was raging with anger. And as the party inside went on, Lightning on the outside decided to get moving again. He needed to wake Sally, they had to flee before these brutes could hurt her.

At the backside of the hut he found her, motionless, eyes closed and cuddled up against the wall. Carefully he approached her - and was shocked.  
Sally obviously hadn't noticed him, she seemed to be asleep.  
She looked exhausted. Her paint was scratched and mud-splattered, no wonder after all she'd been through...   
Seeing her like this was painful to him, and he swallowed hard. How he longed for holding her, caress and comfort her...! But there was no time for that...  
Taking a few, deep breaths, he summoned all his mental strength and tried to calm down again.

Then he noticed the chain.  
These barbarians!  
The chain was heavy and fastened with a lock to a nearby tree. Damned...!  
Frantically, he tried to think of a solution, until he finally had an idea that could work.  
Underneath the window there had been this scrap collection - lots of metal sheets, bars and profiles. They looked old and rusty, but maybe some of them were nevertheless suited for breaking the lock.  
Casting a last glance on the sleeping Porsche in front of him, he slowly turned around and left.

In the meantime, routine seemed to have taken over inside the hut. Lightning could hear the voices of the kidnappers, there were muffled sounds as they were moving, strange hissing noises, and as the smell fresh paint came drifting through the open window, he knew what was going on: The paint session obviously had begun.  
Well, maybe that wasn't bad at all... At least those who were freshly painted had to stay indoors, he thought. This would leave him with a little bit more time... and time he urgently needed.  
Quietly, he rolled forward and stopped right underneath the window.

After a few minutes, he had found what he was looking for - a short iron bar, heavy enough to have at least some impact onto the lock. Yeah, this piece of metal seemed to be o.k. Carefully he bowed down, taking it up with his teeth, ignoring the rusty taste in his mouth as well as the dirt and the cobwebs.  
As he prepared to leave, he suddenly heard the sound of an engine from behind.  
Instinctively, he dropped the iron bar.  
Bullshit...!   
Very, very slowly he turned around, expecting the worst - but there was nothing! He still was alone.  
Bewildered, he looked around.  
What the hell was going on?

The sound of an idling engine. Diesel engine.  
"Hi, Honey..." The voice of the Hummer, loud and clearly, alerted and frightened him at the same time.  
Oh, shit - he probably had come around the hut from the other side...   
Next, he heard a sleepy murmur, and the sound of Sally's voice gave him a stabbing pain inside.  
There was a soft rustling, crunching leaves, then a scratching, metallic noise.  
The sound of a second motor being started - gas engine. Sally's engine -   
The chain rattled, there was a short, crushing thud, a muffled cry...   
Lightning felt a rush of panic float through his components.  
Please - don't... !

Spinning wheels on the muddy soil.  
"Hey, come on, Honey, don't make any fuss... I'm good, you'll like it."  
"Leave me alone!" she cried.  
Loud, heavy breathing.  
The next moment, he could hear strange muffled noises as if there was a fight going on, then the desperate roar of Sally's engine.  
"_NO...!_"  
Her voice was shrill an frightened, and Lightning flinched as if he had been treated with a blowtorch.  
A loud, clanking sound - metal on metal.  
The Hummer laughed. "Oh, you like it the hard way...?"   
Again these crashing noises - and Sally's voice, now panic-stricken...

He was glad that his V8 engine was so loud - louder than anything else, because he couldn't bear listening anymore. Time suddenly seemed to stand still, and he felt strange, as if he was watching himself from afar, shrouded in roaring thunder, as he sped around the corner, aiming directly at the Hummer and closing his eyes shortly before the crash...

Instead of a head-on collision, he crashed into the Hummer's left fender, got thrown aside by the impact and found himself beneath a tree only seconds later.  
Feeling somewhat numb, he tried to shake off the dizziness, but there wasn't any time for recovery.  
The Hummer started moving.

Lightning summoned all his strength, heard his own engine's angry roar - and got stuck at the same moment.  
Damn! His tires had got stuck in the soft soil, and he tried hard not to panic now... Slowly, he told himself, trying to move forward just a little bit, backwards, forward again...!  
Not heeding the strange wailing, grinding noises, he desperately urged himself to break free, thus ignoring also the strong resinous smell that seemed to come out of nowhere. Well, it just didn't matter! Come on - just another try - backwards - forward again -   
Finally feeling solid ground underneath his tires, he took a deep breath and focused on the Hummer, when he suddenly heard a loud bursting noise directly behind him...

"Light -_ NO...!_"  
Confused, he looked up. First he saw Sally, her eyes widened with fear - she seemed to be calling at him, but he couldn't understand her words - then he noticed the dark silhouette of a giant black Jeep with a chainsaw, and in the same moment he was hit from behind by something huge and dark.  
It was a tremendous, forceful blow which smashed him flat onto the ground as if he was struck by an incredibly heavy load, then there was darkness all around him, and he couldn't feel anything anymore.

* * *

"Hello - Mr. McQueen...?"  
"You've got to wake up now..."   
He didn't want to wake up. The darkness was so cosy.   
But since the noise didn't stop, he reluctantly opened his eyes at least, and at the same moment, strange perceptions of the most diverging kind flooded his mind, making him wonder what was going on. He tried to focus. It was still dark - no, there was daylight...   
He wasn't sure. 

The light he saw was caused by a dozen of spotlights which had been placed amidst the trees, and it was so bright that it was painful to his eyes.  
He blinked.  
But that wasn't the only pain he felt - his roof hurt awfully.

There seemed to be a lot of hectic and activity around him. As his vision cleared, he noticed maybe 15 police vehicles, one excavator, several matte-painted and armed SWAT cars, and somewhere in the distance he could spot the rear lights of a transporter truck which was about to leave. And right on the truck's cargo bay, there was -  
"Sally -!" he yelled and tried to move, but at the very moment the throbs of pain grew so bad, making him feel so awfully sick, that he gave up, retching.  
"Please don't move, Sir, and stay calm... - you've had an accident," he was told.   
Irritated, he looked around, trying to find out who had been speaking to him.

He was flanked by two vans, he found out - paramedics by the colour of their paint. One of them looked at him and said "You've been hit by a fir tree. So please don't move - you'll be picked up in a minute..."   
He didn't care about being picked up.  
"The blue Porsche over there - she's my girlfriend. Where is she going to...?"  
"Bakersfield Memorial," the van answered. "We'll take you there, too."   
Lightning still was worried. "...Can I see her, there?"  
"Hmm... well, I think so."   
He felt a strange kind of relief - at least as far as somebody can feel relieved under such conditions.

The vans should be right.   
At the Bakersfield Memorial Car Clinic, at the end of a long, narrow corridor right in front of the ER, he did see her again.  
Sally looked frail and helpless, guarded by two huge paramedics, and first he only recognized her by her tailfin.  
"Sally...?"  
Leaving his own "guards" behind, he tried to move a few meters on his own.

At the sound of his voice, she stopped at once and turned around.  
"Light - !" She came to a skidding halt right in front of him . Looking at him, her eyes filled with tears.  
"...Light..." she began.  
"Sally - are you o.k.?" He looked at her, searching for the proper words. "...How - how do you feel...?"  
"Well... yes..." She seemed to be insecure. "I'm... well, I guess I don't know..." As her gaze fell on his damaged roof, she started crying.  
"Oh, Light..." she sobbed, her flanks trembling.  
The lump in his throat grew bigger, and he swallowed hard as he touched her shyly. "Don't you cry, Sally - everything's gonna be o.k..."

In the meantime, the paramedics had approached them.  
"Miss Carrera...?"   
Lightning looked up. "Just a moment..."  
"And you are...?" one of the vans insisted.  
"Lightning McQueen," he answered. "She's my girlfriend..."  
"He's with me," Sally added, her voice still shaking.  
The paramedics exchanged looks, but then one of them nodded reluctantly. "Okay then... But just a few minutes, will you?"

A moment later, Sally had calmed down again, but she couldn't help looking at him.  
"Light..." she started again. "I'm so sorry that you - ..."   
It took a moment for Lightning to understand. "Hey, that's not as bad as it seems to be," he told her. "They'll fix me in no time, I'm gonna be okay."   
Looking at her, the mere sight of her was still painful to him. All the scratches and dents she had suffered, caused by this horrible trip and her fight against the Hummer...   
Yeah, the Hummer, he thought and swallowed again, because he didn't find the courage to ask her.   
But she seemed to understand. Sadly, she looked at him, her eyes met, and she took a deep breath. "No, he didn't get what he wanted," she said flatly. "But I was terribly frightened that he would succeed..." Lowering her gaze, she started crying again.  
"Sally, Love, it's all over now," he whispered, desperately trying to fight his own tears. "He can't hurt you anymore. Believe me - everything will be alright..."  
Sally cuddled up against his dented fender and closed her eyes.  
She desperately wanted things to be alright again. As soon as possible... Immediately...   
Now!

- - -


	5. There's no Silver Line at the Horizon

5 – There is no Silver Line at the Horizon – it is Grey…

Sally was tired.  
Putting aside her paperwork, she yawned and stretched. Time to go to bed…!  
Turning off the lamp, she looked around.  
In the meantime, it had become so dark outside that the window pane reflected all the light inside the room, and she couldn't see what was going on out there.

Where was Lightning?  
She left the table and moved on to the corridor.

Before she saw him, she could hear voices and noises, and as she peered around the corner, she first noticed a flicker of lights and then him, watching TV.  
Yes, he was watching TV indeed, but obviously he didn't follow whatever was going on there on the screen.. He seemed to be absent-minded, as if in deep thoughts.  
"Light…?" she asked in a low voice.  
He showed no reaction.  
Sally again felt this nagging frustration seize her thinking. Since this incident, he had changed somehow – he was so different, so strange… What, the heck, had happened to him?  
"Light – Honey – you're coming…?"  
Irritated, he looked up, giving her a vague glance, then his eyes turned towards the TV again. "Just a minute," he murmured.  
Sally sighed and turned around.

She wondered what had happened to him.  
The distance between them was growing bigger, she sensed.  
What was it - a kind of rejection? Didn't he want her anymore…? Had he grown tired of their relationship?  
Fuckin' hell – then he should have told her, she thought angrily. He should have told her instead of pretending, instead of simulating a togetherness which long had gone.  
She felt like crying.

As she entered their sleeping room, she didn't turn on the lights.  
Being alone in there was something she absolutely couldn't stand – and if she had to be alone there, then she could do also with the darkness. Maybe it was foolish, but without any lights her loneliness seemed to be less obvious to her.  
Frustrated, she parked and stared into the darkness.  
She missed him.  
She missed the warmth of his body, and the security and comfort he once was giving to her. She missed the cuddling, the talking. The caressing.  
…When was the last time he had made love to her?  
She couldn't remember. Maybe she didn't want to, because thinking of it was painful. Thoughts just like from another world – from another life…  
She closed her eyes to hold back the tears.

Lightning of course had noticed the disappointment in her eyes, and he bit his lips in frustration.  
He felt miserable.  
What the heck should he do now – go on as if nothing had happened?  
Disgusted, he zapped into another channel, trying to avoid the commercials.

So here he was, alone, in front of the TV, only to prevent himself from giving in to the chaos that was raging inside of him, but watching TV didn't help. Just like all drugs or remedies, it was only a temporarily relief…  
Since the kidnapping, Sally was so… so different.  
So reserved, so timid and cautious, so fragile… not the tough girl anymore, the girl he used to know.  
Well, to be honest – the decrease in her "toughness" wasn't that serious – at least sometimes being with her sometimes had not been that easy, since her self-consciousness was sufficient for three of her kind.  
Thinking of this made him smile.  
But now…?  
His smile faded.

…The worst thing was that he didn't know how to deal with her.  
He felt responsible for what hat happened – guilty, to be honest.  
He had failed, he had not been able to protect her.  
Sh…  
He took a deep breath.  
Every time he was thinking about it, he reached this point where he didn't know how to go on. Because he didn't find the courage to tell her, or at least to try telling her, to try apologizing to her. To try telling her how terribly sorry he was, sorry for being unable to help her … Yeah, he had failed in defending her, the girl whom he loved, and whom he needed more than anything in the world.  
Could she ever forgive him?  
He felt so ashamed for that – and even more for his inability to explain it to her.  
Oh, it was so …

The music at the end of the movie dragged him back into reality.  
Well… better hurry up, he thought. It's not good to let her wait for me.  
Maybe it was better if he went on pretending that everything was o.k., although it made him sick. Maybe time could heal their wounds, could "normalize" their life again as time went on…  
Sighing, he turned off the TV and put off the lights.

When Sally woke up the next morning, the first thing she noticed was a certain coldness – she was cold. But not only cold – she somehow didn't feel well at all.  
And above all, she was alone.  
Had she been alone all night? she wondered. Well, no – yesterday they had exchanged a word or two, before she had finally fallen asleep… Great!  
She listened intensely, and as she noticed the well-known noises he made in the bathroom, she was relieved, at least a little bit.

Nevertheless, she was frustrated and disappointed at the same time. She felt rejected by him, neglected – now, when she needed him the most…! She desperately was longing for protection, for normality, wanted to turn back time so that her life, their life, could be just like before… before this _incident_.  
Reluctantly, she stretched her axles and opened her eyes.  
The feeling of not being well was still there, it floated just like a wave through her body… and as she slowly tried to move, she suddenly felt sick.  
Stay calm, she told herself, take a deep breath…

In her mind she began making up a list of all the things she had eaten yesterday, and then she stopped at the last item on this agenda.  
The leftover oil from three days before, which she haven't had the guts to throw away and therefore emptied it yesterday? Maybe…  
Oh, darn. Getting sick was the last thing she needed now – in about half an hour she wanted to be at the Motel!

She sighed. Obviously this was one of the moments in life where nearly everything went wrong, and she wondered whether she could take anymore… Well, she couldn't help it. Even such unpleasant times once would be over. Even though there wasn't any silver line at the horizon now, she needed to go on. To try getting a more relaxed view on whatever was happening – especially since she'd been through situations which were much worse.  
So she tried to stay calm and ignore the sickness that still was lingering on. Just think of something else, she told herself.

Hmm… tonight, they wanted to go to Flo's, just like every Friday - it was their kind of sweet little ritual for celebrating the beginning of the weekend, and now she dreaded it – every second of it.  
…No, Sally, she scolded herself. Don't be so pessimistic – just give him a chance… Maybe it's gonna be nice, even if this assumption was against all odds.  
Try to do more positive thinking…!  
Well, if she'd be at the Motel half an hour later, the world still would be turning, she thought.

* * *

"Hello, my little beauty," the dark Audi TT Coupé 3.2 quattro with blackened windows addressed her. Arriving just a minute ago, he had moved into her direction as soon as he had spotted her. Now he stopped right in front of her, scrutinizing her from top to tires. "So alone…?"  
"Thanks," Sally replied and looked into another direction, hoping that this nerd would leave her alone. "I've got company."  
The TT looked around. "Hmm… well, I can't see anybody…"  
She turned around and looked for help from Lightning, but he was discussing fuel types with Fillmore a few meters away from her, his rear end being closer to her than his front so that he didn't notice her.  
"Wanna have a drink? Together with me…?" the TT insisted and drew closer.  
Sally instinctively had disliked this guy, but she tried to stay calm. "No, thanks."  
The Audi didn't seem to like that. "Hey, Honey – to be honest, you'd like to, don't you?"  
It would have been foolish to show any reaction, Sally thought and tried her best to ignore him, much to the Audi's dismay. He started prancing around her. "Hey, don't be so shy, Honey…"  
Now she had enough of him. "It would be kind of you to leave me alone," she said as sweetly as she could, trying to suppress her anger which was now growing by the second.  
"Hey – don't be so unfriendly," the Audi complained. He touched her fender.  
Sally felt a rush of panic creep up her engine. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed. 

A second later, she could hear the well-known thundering of Lightning's V8 engine, and in the same moment, there was a loud, crashing thud, and she closed her eyes because she couldn't stand watching…  
On slowly opening them again, she could see the TT now standing a few meters away from her, his left fender dented and scratched, his left headlight broken, and the shards and all what was left of it covered the ground in front of him.  
Front sagged, he stared at his opponent in disbelief.

Between her and him, there stood Lightning, staring at him with a menacing look in his eyes, his engine was idling, but his whole body trembled from barely concealed anger.  
"Get lost," he said in a cold voice.  
Sally felt a shiver down her back. To her, he had sounded like a total stranger…

The Audi not only was irritated by now, he seemed also pretty frightened. "O.k. man, relax – I'm already gone," he murmured. And the next moment, he turned around and made for the main street as fast as he could, not daring to look back.  
Lightning watched him disappear, until the street was empty again.

He seemed to be unhurt except maybe a few minor scratches.  
Ignoring the bewildered looks from all those around, he stopped to give Sally a questioning glance, as if he was about to say something, but then he turned around abruptly and left for the _men's room_.

Sally slowly exhaled, trying to sort out her emotions which had been turned upside down again. She still was shocked and paralysed and didn't move, but her thoughts kept on running – constantly, mercilessly.  
This sinister look in his eyes still gave her the creeps… She felt strange – to be honest, just like crying, and she wished that she had disappeared just like him – only far, far away from this place. But that wasn't a good idea, she knew.  
…As if she never had known him before, her thoughts added. The image of him being so unexpectedly violent, so brutal, again filled her mind, frightening her.  
She swallowed hard.  
Looking around for shelter, she finally found Flo in her office, and so she started to move, still trembling inside.

"But why can't he look into my eyes? Why did he turn around immediately?" Sally's voice was desperate, her eyes filled with tears. "…Looks as if he doesn't care about me anymore…"  
Flo didn't share her opinion. "No, Sally – to me, he definitely _doesn't_ look as if wouldn't care." She turned around and peered out of the window, deeply in thoughts. "On the contrary. To me – it seems that…"  
Suddenly she turned around again and fixed the light blue Porsche's eyes with a stern expression. "Sally, did you ever think about the problems _he_ is facing, since this incident….?"  
"…What do you mean – ?"  
"Sally…" Flo's eyes were locked on her. "This whole kidnapping story didn't leave you unscathed – it has changed you, both of you. This is quite obvious and also quite natural. Well, you for example grew a bit shy, you long for protection now, you've got lots of fears and you worry about your future." She took a deep breath. "And when it comes to men – well, they get quite strange sometimes, regarding us women. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about…"  
She smiled, making even Sally smile against her will.  
But then Flo's smile faded quickly. "Did you ever ask him? What _his _problems are…?"  
Sally did not answer. She lowered her gaze instead and stared onto the floor, feeling somewhat guilty.  
"Ah – so _that's_ what it's all about." Flo drew closer, forcing her to look straight into her eyes. "You don't talk with each other anymore – am I correct?"  
Sally nodded reluctantly.  
"Holy Chrysler – that's not good. You'll have to get talking again! Oh Sally – he loves you so, this is _so_ obvious. And you still love him, too, am I right…?"  
Again Sally nodded, but then she abruptly turned away and burst into tears.  
Flo sighed. "Ahhh… Come over here, Sweetheart," she said in a calm, maternal voice. "Don't you cry… yeah, everything's gonna be alright…"

* * *

A week later, Sally didn't show up as promised, and Flo started to worry. But since she was busy the whole morning and had to look after the new supplies, she didn't have much time for thinking it over.  
Time went by. It was about lunchtime, and she stood behind her desk, sorting out the delivery notes, when she heard a well-known honking. She looked up.  
It was Sally.  
Judging by her looks, she seemed to have changed, Flo thought. Compared with last week, when the young Porsche appeared to be frightened, highly emotional and vulnerable… well, now she looked totally different – all shiny and new, freshly polished, her paint gleaming in the bright sunlight. And above all, she seemed to be content, content and relaxed…  
The difference couldn't be more obvious. 

Flo left her table to greet her. "Hi, Sweetheart – where have you been this morning?"  
Sally gave her a beaming smile. "With Doc Hudson," she said, and by the look in her eyes, Flo suddenly recognized what was going on.  
"_No_ – Sally, don't you tell me that you're…"  
"Yes," the Porsche replied and smiled again. "You're the second one to know… I'm pregnant."  
Flo couldn't help smiling, too. "Well – that's good news after all," she said, exhaling slowly. "And… and you and Lightning…?"  
Sally closed her eyes and sighed happily. "He's on cloud nine."  
Flo was relieved. "So – everything o.k. with you and the baby? You're feeling alright?"  
"Yeah." Sally's voice was a bit shaky because of her excitement, and her eyes now took on a dreamy expression. "You won't believe what has happened then – he has proposed to me…"

- - -

_Yuk, that was sickening sweet… Could be Disney…  
+ retchingsilently +  
But I couldn't leave them arguing and fighting, I don't like that, to be honest (although that's more likely than this cloud-nine-stuff)._

_Well, folks, as you see, I'm breaking a habit – normally you only get comments from me as long as a chapter isn't finished. But this is definitely the end of this one – and not of this story! So, beware of the Epilogue..._

- - - 


	6. Epilogue

6 – Epilogue

(a few years later...)

Sarah McQueen knew that she was late.  
She long should have been at home… Darn.  
And as she turned into the narrow lane that lead to her home, she started to feel somewhat uneasy. But now there was no escape anymore – she nearly had reached the front door.  
Before she could open it by herself, the door swung open, and she could see her dad standing there in the opening.  
Shit.  
Judging by the expression in his eyes, he was pretty angry…

"…Oh – there you are at least, young lady," he said, but his voice was harsh. Sarah's spirits sank. "Hi Dad," was all she managed to say.  
He looked at her, but in his eyes there was much more than strictness and anger, and she wished herself to be far away.  
"Do you know how late it is…?" he growled.  
"Ahm… yes…"  
As if that wasn't bad enough – it should get worse, because at the same moment, her mother appeared directly behind him, and she looked worried, too.  
"Where have you been all the time?" she asked, and by the sound of her voice she was not only very disappointed, there was also something strange going on which she couldn't explain…  
Sarah managed to squeeze past her father, and the door was closed again.  
"In the forest, playing 'Rallye' with Brian…"  
Her parents exchanged looks, and Sarah felt even worse. Of course it wasn't o.k. to be so late… and of course, her parents would reprimand her for that, but, hey – this was the first time…! Okay, okay, this wasn't the first time she had been doing something wrong. And normally, when her mother got mad at her, she got scolded, but then it was over.  
This time, things seemed to be different.  
For the first time, not only _both_ of them were angry at her – she never had seen them being so furious…!  
Now her dad looked at her again, and by the expression in his face she began to realize that she had made a big mistake, although she couldn't understand why.  
"Sarah – when you've been _told_ to be at home at 9.00 pm, then you _are_ at home at 9.00 pm."  
Sarah felt quite miserable by now. "But – Dad…"  
"No '_but_'s and '_if_'s." His voice was cold.  
She nodded guiltily.  
"Now go to your room, Sarah," her mom added.  
Sadly, she started to move.

When Sarah had gone, Sally, turned around. She drove up to the kitchen window where she stopped, peering into the darkness outside.  
There they were again – the shadows from the past… She had hoped to escape these dark memories for so long, but obviously she'd been wrong.

Lightning had followed her; now he stood at her side, remaining silent, and she wondered whether he knew what was troubling her.  
After a while, he broke the silence. "I just wonder whether I've been too strict with her," he said in a low voice.  
Sally drew closer and leant against him.  
"No, Honey…"  
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. But before he could say anything in reply, she went on in a sad voice: "She needs to learn… Well, she has no idea how much we worry." She swallowed hard, trying to drive away those memories, get them out of her mind, out of her thinking.  
Lightning exhaled slowly, then he nodded. "Yeah, you're right…" he said at least. "She'll only learn when she understands that her actions do have consequences." He sighed. "Nevertheless – I hate it being so harsh with her."  
Sally smiled at him, even though she still felt like crying.  
He looked at her. "Hey – this is much better…" Tenderly, he kissed her under her left rear mirror.  
He knew, she thought…

"Oh, Light…" She suddenly felt like laughing and crying at the same time, and in this very moment she realized that it was over – she had passed the test successfully. A knot seemed to untie somewhere deep in her mind.  
She was relieved, although she couldn't be sure that her fears would not come back again – but then she'd be able to deal with them, and above all, she wasn't alone anymore…  
Sally looked up to him. "I better go and have a look…"

* * *

Pacing up and down in her room, Sarah still felt miserable.  
Darn! This _definitely_ had gone wrong… Suddenly turning form a rallye champion into a picture of misery, she had to admit to herself that she really had messed up the whole thing. Never before her parents had been so mad at her, and now her dark green eyes filled with tears.  
Shit…  
And as she started crying, cursing herself and indulging in self-pity, she didn't notice that the door to her room got opened and closed again. 

"Sarah…?" The sound of her mother's voice took her by surprise.  
Sarah looked up. "…Mom?"  
But her mother didn't look angry, she seemed to be sad and concerned instead.  
"Come over, Sweetheart…"  
Without hesitation, the young red race car cuddled up to her. "I'm so sorry, Mom," she sobbed. "I didn't want to –…"  
"Shhh… I know, Sweetheart."  
Sarah was irritated. "But…" She sniffed under her tears. "But you're angry… aren't you…?"  
Sally looked at her daughter. "I'm not angry, Sarah," she replied quietly. "…I was frightened instead."  
Sarah couldn't stand the look in her eyes and burst into tears again. "But why…? I – I've only been in the woods," she cried.  
Her mother still seemed to be worried. "But _we _didn't know where you were," she explained. "We were worried that something might have happened to you… Sarah – we love you very much, and we don't want you to get hurt, or…" Her voice trailed off, and a single tear ran down her hood, leaving no traces on the light blue paint.  
Bewildered, Sarah looked at her mother. "…Mom – ?"  
By the expression on her face, she decided better not to discuss this matter any further. Her mother's fears and worries were somewhat disturbing for her.

Sally took a good look at her and swallowed hard. "Sweetheart – can you imagine how hard it is to love somebody and don't know where he or she is, and how he or she is?" she said flatly.  
Her daughter couldn't.  
"Well – then let me explain it you…" And while Sarah was staring at her in disbelief, she went on: "Your dad and I, we've been through such a situation, some years before. Before you were born… Because I had gotten into a bank raid and was taken hostage. It was the worst thing we ever experienced."  
And slowly, hesitantly, she told her the whole story.  
When she had finished, Sarah was quite impressed.  
"Hey Mom – I didn't knew that you've been into such an adventure…!" she said.  
But her mother didn't share this opinion. "That was no adventure," she replied quietly.  
"But…"  
Sally grew serious again. "Sarah – these people were dangerous. They didn't care about hurting me, and they would have killed your dad if the police had not intervened and got us out of there in time."  
The young race car swallowed hard. "You mean… really – _kill_ him…?"  
"Yes, Sweetheart."  
"Oh..." Now it was her turn to be frightened.

"Your dad didn't know where I was, and I didn't know that he had been following the kidnappers," her mother added. "And when he got hit by a fir tree, I nearly went mad… - Can you imagine now that we're worried about _you_…? Especially when we don't know where you are…?"  
"But Mom…"  
"Oh Sweetheart – we don't want to control you. But if you're staying outside for longer, we need to know _where_ you are, and _with whom_ you are."  
"…Oh Mom, please...!"  
"Promised?"  
"Promised…" Although she began to understand vaguely, Sarah still felt miserable, and she must have looked exactly that way.  
"Oh Sarah…" Sally sighed. "Come over here, Sweetheart."  
Again, the young red race car was glad to cuddle up to her mom. "…Love you, Mom…" she whispered.  
"I love you, Sarah. And your dad loves you, too…"

- - -


	7. Explanatory Notes

**Explanatory Notes**

**Timeframe:**  
The story is set maybe 2 or 3 months after the movie. Lightning and Sally now live together, they've taken quarters in one of the formerly uninhabited houses of Radiator Springs, but they're not married (yet! this is another story). Both have their jobs – Sally runs the Wheel Well Motel (I just wonder what happened to the _Cozy Cone_), and Lightning, if he isn't racing or attending training lessons/camps, is helping her.

**Story, the first:**  
Although written in a way to make it look less severe, the story contains a situation which best could be described as "attempted rape" – therefore the "high" rating.  
Well… what can I say? When I started writing, I neither planned nor expected the story to take _that_ direction. It just happened! I somewhat feel obliged to tell stories as _realistic_ as I can, and I didn't find any realistic (and less disturbing) alternative to what I described (except one I disliked even much more). So, be honest, folks: What will a bunch of three witless male kidnappers most probably do to a female hostage…? What else but trying to "have fun" with her?

**Story, the second:**  
As the title says, this story is about "fear" and what it does to people/cars. In this case, the fear is triggered by a kidnapping – a situation in which the victim suffers from the total loss of control and/or self-determination. When experiencing such critical and unpleasant situations, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) symptoms will be part of the consequences the victim has to deal with (afterwards), and examples of how these symptoms might look like, are described in this story…  
But this story isn't only about fear and traumas. If you read it carefully, you'll find it's even about much more.

**Vehicle types:**  
Logan, the boss of the kidnappers, is an AM Hummer, to be exact, a 1998 H1 6.5 l Turbo Diesel. You might ask why I chose a Hummer for this character? Well, Hummers are the biggest SUVs on the market, they have a nearly unbelievable ground clearance of 41 cm, and off-road they can be extremely dangerous for a race car (race cars are the "cheetahs" of the automobile world: lightweights with top speed and no claws). So I got the idea of assigning different SUV types to the rest of the bunch…   
Jason, the Pickup, is a 1999 GMC Sierra, the dark blue Walt is a 2000 Dodge Durango 5.9 l Magnum. Their friend Joss is a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee with black paint and allover gothic tattoos in dark silver (as well as a few piercings in his front bumper). And last but not least, there is also a black 2004 Audi TT Coupé 3.2 l quattro with dark coloured windows (who appears later in this story).

**Forest:**  
The sequoias were inspired by „Muir Woods" near San Francisco. Ever been there? Well, if not – just believe me: Sequoias _are_ impressive! You know the scene where Crocodile Dundee says "…_This_ is a knife"? _These_ are trees...!

„**Stickers" vs. „Light":**  
If you have seen the movie, you might ask yourself why Lightning is called "Light" in this story and not "Stickers" at all. Well, there is an explanation for this change in names, and although it is of pure practical nature, it also gives us some information on the intensity of their relationship…  
Here it comes: The two syllables in the word "Stickers" are much longer than the single syllable in "Light", and the short _(e)_ vowel in "Stickers" sounds much harsher than the long and soft (_i)_ vowel in "Light". Now the average human, and most probably also the average car, is fond of using abbreviations. Got my drift? No? Believe me – there _are_ situations in a relationship where long words with more than one syllable are extremely inconvenient, especially if they contain the wrong vowel... _snigger  
_So I assumed that Sally – from that moment on – would prefer to stick to the shorter and more convenient version of his name.

**Vehicle pregnancy:**  
No idea of how this might work… Well, according to the movie, Pixar's cars have lots of "biological" elements and functions, so I guess that sex – just like in the human world – is also part of their (automobile) relationships. Which still leaves the question open where the baby cars do come from… Well, it's definitely not the Taxi stork! But just "ordering" kids like in "Robots" is boring... I'd prefer _making_ them the old-fashioned way ;-)

**And again – Timelines…:**  
It is difficult to define the progress of time in car world. Assuming that cars are about 10 years old before their owners dispose of them (this average number is at least correct for German cars), one car year would equal 7 human years, if the average human life span is 70 years. This assumption implies a proportional relationship between human years and car years, and that's exactly the point where we don't know whether this proportionality is given or not. Also, it excludes vehicles such as oldtimers.  
According to this way of calculating, Sally would be 21 or 22 human years old ("Cars" is dated 2005), which, to my liking, is much too young for deciding to abstain from big city life…

**Author's final note:**  
Sorry for the fluff.


End file.
